Jesuit Dallas remained unbeaten in District 6-6A action in thrilling fashion Thursday, topping Prosper Walnut Grove, 50-49, in overtime at the Prosper ISD Children’s Health Stadium after a game-winning 2-point conversion.
Jesuit answered a Walnut Grove touchdown in the first overtime period when J.P. Livingstone found George Gladstone over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown and earned the win on a pass from Livingstone to Hunter Helm.
With the win, Jesuit improves to 4-2 on the season and 3-0 in district, while Walnut Grove (ranked No. 8 in the area in 6A by The Dallas Morning News) suffered its first defeat and sits at 5-1 and 2-1 in district.
“What an exciting win,” said Brandon Hickman, Jesuit head coach. “Our kids were focused on just getting better this week. We had a good week in practice and they believed they could win. I think that was the biggest thing and they came out and executed the game plan. And at the end, we knew we were going to go for two there, and they got it done.”
Perhaps the biggest moment of the game came early in the third quarter.
With Walnut Grove driving for the go-ahead score on the opening possession of the second half, Jesuit stuffed the Wildcats and fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
On the ensuing play, Livingston threw deep down the left sideline, where Joseph Konings made the catch and broke a tackle for a 96-yard score and 35-28 lead.
Konings would finish with seven receptions for 182 yards and two scores, while Livingstone completed 24-of-31 attempts for 396 yards and five touchdowns.
Jesuit needed every bit of offense it received as Walnut Grove racked up 629 yards of offense.
Quarterback Ashton Gosselin threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Camryn King was a workhorse with 52 carries for 267 yards and a touchdown.
“That was awesome,” Hickman said of the stand and subsequent long touchdown. “We had the huge goal-line stand and got it when we needed it. This was a who-can-stop-who type of game and we got a big one there. And then we got that big stop at the end. I’m really proud of how the team played together as a whole. Offense, defense, and special teams.”
The teams went to the half deadlocked at 28-28 following a back-and-forth opening two quarters in which neither squad led by more than seven points.
The Rangers opened the scoring on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Livingstone to Max Smith for a 7-0 advantage and later, after falling behind, 14-7, drew even at 14 apiece on a 47-yard scoring strike to Ty Daboub.
Daboub would also chip in a 6-yard touchdown run for a 21-21 tie, but Jesuit appeared to be facing a deficit heading to the break after Chase Jolley hauled in his second 9-yard touchdown reception of the half for a 28-21 margin with 46 seconds remaining.
However, Jesuit responded with a 73-yard scoring drive of its own.
The big play was a 31-yard connection from Livingston to Konings before the pair hooked up again from 3 yards out to tie the score heading to the break.
Daboub finished with 99 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards, while Henry Hodges had seven catches for 58 yards.
Jesuit will look to remain perfect in district at home Friday when it faces another tall task in No. 7 Prosper.
“We always say whether we win 7-6 or 60-59, we just want to be in front by one point,” Hickman said. “That’s what we did tonight. People think I’m crazy because we try to schedule a challenging non-district, and that’s the reason right there. We prepare ourselves for the teams we’re going to be facing in district and to be as ready for them as we can be.”
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